


A Strange New World

by black_rose4



Series: A Strange New World [1]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Angst, Drabble Collection, F/M, Fluff, Friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2017-02-26
Packaged: 2018-05-03 01:20:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 15,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5271221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/black_rose4/pseuds/black_rose4
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i> He waits until his cigarette’s lit before making a tactical change of subject. “So uh listen, I’ve been meaning to ask you something for a while now, but things being as they are, I’ve not had chance to ask until now.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Anna sets down her glass. “Uh oh. You sound serious.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Well that’s the thing, I am serious. Totally serious. I just need to know if you are too. It’s just - look, I know he’s gone, but you still seem to be in love with your husband. I didn’t think you were ready to move on, but you seem to be saying otherwise, just not in those words. So, is this - the blatant flirting - just you having some fun to get over him or are you actually serious about it? Because I wouldn’t wanna read things wrong, especially given your circumstance. But I really do care about you Anna. Quite a lot actually.”</i>
</p><p>A collection of one-shots about sole survivor Anna Bell and Preston Garvey, with some other drabbles thrown in occasionally for fun</p><p>Spoiler warnings are at the start of chapters if necessary</p><p>Also over on my <a href="http://black-rose4.tumblr.com/tagged/writing-about-anna"> tumblr </a></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Deathclaws and Power Armour

She’s not fully sure how she ended up in this suit of power armour. 

One second she was killing raiders, the next she was being talked into finding some old suit of power armour and killing said raiders with the minigun left up on the roof. And for some strange reason she’d said  _yes_. 

So now she’s stood, minigun in hand, peering over the edge of the rooftop, trying to work up the courage to jump down. It’s a daunting sight, to say the least.

If she could, she’d leave this town and head back to Sanctuary. The second she’d found that suit and the poor pilot still in the vertibird she’d been reminded of Graham and seeing  _him_  in  _his_  power armour and – 

She wants nothing more than to curl up in a ball and cry. But instead she’s crying in a suit of power armour – and being shot at. 

Her anguish quickly turns to anger and she hauls up her minigun and aims it at the raider on the opposite rooftop. More shots come from below and she jumps blindly, bracing herself for the crippling impact she expects. To her surprise, the power armour absorbs the worst of it, though her knees and ankles still ache horribly when she lands. She takes a moment to wince and groan before the sound of bullets ricocheting off metal reminds her of the raiders still attacking her. 

She’s not sure if it’s a shout of rage or a scream of anguish that comes out of her as she mows them down, all she knows is beneath her helmet she’s crying. 

And right now she is awfully glad for this suit of power armour. 

The raiders’ shouts stop suddenly and Anna breathes a sigh of relief.  _Maybe now they’ll fuck off and leave me alone._  A second later their shouts start up again, panicked this time. She sees them running away from the entrance to the sewers below and a giant creature emerges. And boy does it look pissed. 

Anna’s anger and anguish twist into terror and she clutches tightly to her minigun, suddenly rather thankful she has that in her hand and not the 10mm she’s been using. The beast swings at the raiders closest to it, its claws tearing through them with ease. Anna gulps. She’s fairy certain she may wet herself any second now. 

 _“Deathclaw”_ , she hears one of them shout.  _Fitting name._

As the raiders’ numbers quickly thin, Anna realises a terrifying thought:  _it’s coming for me next._

Anna gulps again.  _Well, at least I have this suit of power armour._


	2. A Real Dead Ringer

It’s just before sunrise when he finds her, sat at the guard post where she’s been for the last six or so hours. She’s sat back against the cover, cigarette in one hand and bottle of whiskey in the other. Her gun is by her side, close enough to reach for should she need it, but given the bottle in her hand its clearly been a quiet night.

“Is it handover time already?”

Anna holds her cigarette between her lips and starts trying to stand, but Preston waves a hand in the air, signalling for her to stay where she is. She slumps back with a thud and takes a drag. Preston shakes his head for no. “Not yet. I just thought I’d come a little early to see how you were doing.”

“I’m bored as hell, but otherwise fine. Oh and I’m now so tired I’m now no longer tired. But hey, at least no one showed up in the night and tried to kill us.” She holds her bottle up toward him in a victorious salute.

Preston chuckles and motions to the spot opposite her. “Well that’s a plus. Mind if I join you?”

“Feel free.” Anna waits until he’s sat before offering the whiskey to him. “Drink?”

“I’ll pass. I’d like to be sober on my shift. I’ll take a cigarette though, if there’s one on offer.” Anna nods and offers him the packet from her pocket. She waits for him take one then lights it with her old flip-lighter. “So, why the whiskey? You don’t seem the sort to drink while on the job.” Anna’s eyes widen slightly in panic and Preston adds softly, “Want to talk?”

She exhales a quiet chuckle; the sound is raspy and smoke blows from her nostrils. She considers declining for a moment. It would be much easier than explaining what’s wrong – there’s so much wrong right now that if she were to start listing things off they’d be here all day. But his presence is a comfort to her and, she thinks, it wouldn’t be terrible to open up to someone, especially not him. He seems to understand her mind set which she greatly appreciates.

“You know when you see someone, and they look _so_ much like someone else you know, but you know it’s not them? Well I’ve seen a ghost. In fact I keep seeing him. Every single fucking day.”

“Who does Sturges look like?” Anna looks at him baffled and Preston continues casually. “I’m not blind. You avoid him like latrines before they’ve been cleared out at the end of the day. And while the guy’s a little sharp around the edges sometimes, he wouldn’t hurt a bloatfly. Which means it’s nothing personal, but it is enough of something to make you wanna not look the guy in the eye.”

Anna laughs shakily. “God, you’re perceptive.” She pauses for a long while, lets her laughter die down. She takes a swig of whiskey before she continues. “He looks like my husband.” Preston’s jaw hangs open and she smirks grimly, knowing that of all the people she could’ve said, that was the one person you just didn’t want her to say. “It’s not a perfect match, but at a quick glance it’s pretty eerie. The hair, the chin. His nose is pretty similar too. He’s shorter by a mile, but build-wise they’re pretty similar as well.” She lets out a sigh, laughing as she does so. “Course, the second he opens his mouth we’re all good again. I swear, if I could just _listen_ to him and not look at him, I’d be great.”

“You should tell him, you know.”

Anna features contort into a grimace and she groans, the sound coming out more like a whine. There are many things she hates, but facing up to and dealing with her own problems is perhaps the top of that list. “Ehhh, I know I _should_. But how do you tell a guy _Hey sorry I’ve been avoiding you, it’s just you’re a dead ringer for my husband. Ya know, the one I watched get shot while I was just there helpless_?” She takes another swig of whiskey, gulping it down this time. She could happily finish off the bottle if she tried. “I don’t want to make things any more awkward than they already are.”

Preston places a hand on her shoulder. The gesture is simple, but comforting. “Just trust me, okay. He’s not mad, just confused.”

Anna sighs, sets the bottle down and places her hand over his. He is warm beneath her palm, his skin rough. She lets her hand rest over his, enjoying the feeling. “Fine. But first I’m gonna try and catch some sleep. My shift just ended. I’m sure this problem will still be around when I wake up. Things never disappear that easily, at least not for me they don’t.”

She’s still mumbling to herself as she gathers her belongings and potters off towards her house, but Preston can’t make out the rest of what she says.

* * *

He’s where Anna figured he’d be when she goes searching for Sturges that next day – hammering the same old wall and seemingly doing nothing to actually fix it. “Hey Sturges, you got a sec?”

“Sure thing. What’s up?”

She motions for him to follow her inside, away from prying ears. Even if no one’s really listening, she prefers the illusion of privacy.

She sits on the recently righted sofa and Sturges sits opposite her, in the plush chair to match the sofa.

Anna takes a moment to collect herself. It really is eerie how similar he looks, especially with that goofy smile of his. He shows a little more tooth than Graham ever did and he smiles a little broader most times, but it’s the same sort of idiotically optimistic smile that warms her heart. Sat this close to him, she can see his eyes are darker than Graham’s. _Good. That’s another difference to add to the list._

As the silence begins to drag on and grow uncomfortable, Sturges’ smile starts to drop. He clears his throat. “You had somethin’ to say?”

“Yes. Right.” Anna inhales a deep breath and holds it, before slowly letting it out. “So I’ve been acting kinda funny with you and I guess I should probably tell you why. It’s just you sorta kinda really look an awful lot like my dead husband. So whenever I look at you I just see him and it’s really difficult for me.”

Sturges exhales a long breath and leans back in his chair. “ _Wow_. That is nothin’ like what I thought you were gonna say. I thought I’d said somethin’ that pissed ya off.”

“ _God_ _no_. Nothing like that. This is all on me, don’t worry about it.” She pauses, then adds. “In fact, it’s actually _better_ when you speak. You sound nothing like Graham. It really helps differentiate the two of you.”

Sturges nods enthusiastically. “Got it. Talk more. I can do that.” He gets up to leave, but stops. “I’m sorry I look like your dead husband. But hey, at least he was a looker, right?” He chuckles, the sound turning awkward as he realises that his joke has not had the effect he’d hoped for – though in retrospect, he’s not sure what effect it would have besides this one. Anna’s face is sombre and he gulps nervously. “Sorry. That was inappropriate. I’ll just…get back to work now.”

Anna watches him leave, still grimacing at his joke. As he walks, she notices something. _Well, there’s another difference. Talk about a bubble butt._


	3. Ghosts of the Past

She hadn’t planned on sleeping here again, not now, but she’s been left with little choice. Beds are limited and like hell if she’s letting anyone else in her - _their_ \- bedroom. 

And so here she is, staring at the ceiling in the ruins of her house.

It doesn’t feel right. Nothing does. Her pillow is an old dress of hers, salvaged from the bottom drawer and bundled up. Her blanket is one of Graham’s coats that’s in surprisingly good condition, all things considered. But the space beside her is empty and as she stares up at nothing she can see the night sky, thankfully clear right now, through the roles in the roof. Had she not made a sort of barricade along the wall, she would also see the new inhabitants of Sanctuary, just as they would be able to see her. Thank the lord she’d had enough nouse to give herself what little privacy she can. 

She rolls onto her side and closes her eyes. It’s been a long day, the longest in her life perhaps. All she wants to do now is sleep, but the ghost of her husband’s body is haunting her, keeping her awake. She sees his face behind her eyelids, still happy and smiling. She sees his face, pained, frozen in death, frozen forever. 

A quiet knock on her makeshift door makes Anna jump. “General? Oh. Sorry, did I wake you?” 

Anna shakes her head. “No, I was just resting. Is everything alright?” 

“Yeah, I was just checking in on everyone. You’re my last call actually. Everyone else is sticking to the one house pretty much. You sure you don’t wanna join us?” He casually half-offers her his hand. An invitation. 

But she has to turn it down. “Thanks, but I’m good here. This is familiar, at least as familiar as things can get for me right now. And right now that’s what I need.” 

Preston lingers for a moment in the doorway. He’s unsure of what to say, but he feels he should say  _something_. He’s only known her a short time and knows little of what she’s going through right now, but to just leave her like this doesn’t sit right with him either. 

But she clearly wants her space and he can understand that. So, he realises, it is best to leave her alone. “I’ll be close by if you need me, okay?”

She doesn’t reply, but he leaves anyway. He knows she’s heard him. 

* * *

It’s still dark when she wakes. The clouds have rolled over and blocked out what little starlight had been lighting her room before. She can see nothing distinguishable in the dark. Just a few cracks of light from the holes in the walls, casting shadows across the skeleton of her room. Anna looks around, lets her eyes adjust to the light. She can see little, but it’s enough. Enough to know. 

She wants out of there.  _Now_. She’s not ready for this, not yet. 

It feels good to be out of the bedroom. Liberating. 

He’s sitting on the sofa, where she guesses he’s been ever since he left her alone however many hours ago. He’s breathing steadily, but he’s not asleep. She guesses he never went to sleep either, though why she’s not sure. Whatever the reason, Preston seems just as unable or unwilling to sleep as Anna. 

“I thought you’d be with the others.”

He seems surprised to see her, though perhaps it’s just the lack of sleep. He looks as bleary eyes as she feels. “Huh? Oh, no…I needed some time away from them. Needed a bit of space, you know?” 

Anna nods and joins him, then rummages in her jacket pocket and pulls out her pack of cigarettes and her lighter. She takes one out for herself, then offers him one. Preston politely declines and Anna shrugs and lights her own. “I have alcohol too, if you want a drink.”

Preston chuckles softly. “I’ll pass, for now at least.” 

“Don’t worry, there’s no expiry date on my offer. Lord knows I need a drink, so I’m sure you do too.” 

He says little after that, simply watches her smoke. It seems to calm her, though only slightly. He needs what she does right now: sleep. 

Neither one is sure when they fell asleep, but when they wake there’s a distinct crick in both of their necks and they feel at least mildly refreshed. They shuffle apart when they realise they’d fallen asleep on one another, but say little past that. 

Preston is the first one to actually move. “I should probably see if the others are awake yet.” 

Anna nods her agreement, but remains where she is on the sofa as he makes to leave. He pauses in the doorway before though. “Maybe we should see about getting you some new accomodations. I think you need it more than we do.” He’s left before Anna can reply. 

He’s right though. She can’t stay in this house. Not like this. She needs somewhere new, somewhere that is entirely her own. She needs a clean start. 


	4. Happy Holidays (New)

Anna had never cared much for Halloween. It marked that time of year when she either worked later than normal, dealt with fuller cells than normal - filled with weirdos rather than the usual petty criminals - and the odd atmosphere it brought about made anyone older than a child do strange things, to say the least.  _Or_ , if she was lucky, she had the night off to spend with Graham, usually in some restaurant away from trick or treaters, with a nice bottle of wine or two to help the night pass by a little easier.  

What she did care for was the weeks following Halloween, the run up to Christmas. 

Especially this year. Alexander’s first Christmas. Their first Christmas together as a family. Just the three of them. Heck, she’d already gotten his present she was so eager. Sure, it was perhaps a little big, but at the rate children seem to grow, she was sure it wouldn’t be long before he could learn to use it.

She was so excited. 

* * *

Anna had never cared much for Halloween, especially not now. She makes a mental note to take down the decorations around Sanctuary. No one celebrates the holiday now, and even if they did, they only serve as a bitter reminder of what was and now what is not. 

She stashes all the ones she finds from her house in Codsworth’s old box. He has no use for it, nor does she for the streamers and banners she stuffs inside of it. Besides, it would be a little late to return him now. 

As she moves the box to take it outside, a smaller one catches her attention. It’s aged terribly, but is in better conditions than most other things in the house, having been shielded by Codsworth’s box. A lump forms in her throat as she realises what the box contains. 

It would have been Alexander’s first Christmas. His first Christmas present, which she’d bought him months in advance in her excitement. She knew he was too small for the tricycle, but he’d been growing so quickly, especially with her being at work so often, that she thought  _“why not buy it in advance?”_

The box in her hands falls to the floor with a loud bang and Anna drops to her knees, still staring at the tricycle’s box. It’s still unopened, though the corners have been eaten away. Her hands shake as she tears her way into the box and pulls out its contents, which she clutches to her chest. 

If anyone else in Sanctuary hears her sobbing, they don’t interrupt her. 


	5. Loose Lips Sink Ships

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based off a prompt over on my tumblr. Set early on, during their growing friendship.

They’ve become familiar with this now. 

One of them almost always comes to the other around this time, drinks in hand – alcoholic or not – and a weary smile on their face. It’s false, both of them know it, and tired too. Just like them. But then it drops, it had been slow to happen at first, and they let each other see themselves as they are now. Honest and laid bare. Tired and so very worn out by the world. And by life. 

She’s sat warming her hands by the fire when he joins her. She already has a bottle of whiskey in her hand. A bad night then. 

“I  _did_  bring you something, but it seems you beat me to it.” Preston laughs weakly. He knows the look on her face, has seem it more times than he’d like. “How much catching up do I have to do?”

Anna holds her bottle up to the light to the fire, showing the line where the liquid stops. “A decent bit.” 

He uncaps his bottle and takes a swig. “So, what’s eating you?”

“Oh, ya know. The usual. I spend too much time working, put off everything else and hyperfocus on my work. In this case, the Minutemen. End up neglecting my son because…reasons. The usual shit.” 

“Wait, hold up a sec. How is this  _the usual_?” 

He can already tell her tongue is looser than usual. She rarely mentions her son, let alone so honestly and openly. Most nights he’d probably take the bottle from her, tell her she’s had enough. But tonight he needs this too.

She’s opened up to him before during these chats of their, told him about allsorts – the vault, her life before the war, the food she used to make. But this? This is new. 

Anna groans. “Come on, I’ve told you about this. How I did so well at work because I spent  _all_  my time there and did nothing else. Fuck, I even messed up Graham’s original proposal to me because I was working overtime. I invest all my time in my work and forget that the world doesn’t revolve around that and that alone. Heck, I even used it to escape from my new-born baby because I was shit scared.” She notices Preston staring, his hand hovering over the top of his still unopened bottle of whiskey. “Drink up.”

He reaches for her bottle instead, clearly preferring to share, but Anna clutches it to her chest.” No, this one’s mine. I plan on getting wrecked so I don’t remember feeling this bad in the morning. Now where was I – oh yeah, Alexander. So yeah, I’m a terrible mom. Always was, still am. Truth be told I’m only trying to find him because some fucker shot my husband in order to kidnap him. Figure I owe it to Graham to at least try and find him. Can’t even do that right.”

For the longest while he’s not sure what to say. Expressing his sympathies seems hollow, and she’ll likely just snap at him for it anyway. She doesn’t need empty words; she’s sorry enough for herself. Instead he simply listens. Gives her the ear he’s always ready with when she needs it, especially during these chats of theirs. Listens as she rants, nods along, says little but just enough to keep prompting her to speak. To let it out.  

It’s not until she starts delving deeper and deeper into personal topics about her relationship – or lack of one – with her son that she falters. 

He places his hand hand on her arm, hoping the gesture is comforting. “You okay?”

He’s not certain if she’s crying, but he’s not about to ask; he knows her better than that. Either way, Anna nods and wipes at her cheek. “Nothing I can’t handle. But enough about me, what’s eating  _you_  up? You hardly ever show up with booze, it’s always me. What is on your mind my friend?” 

In the light of the fire, his face is grim. He takes a good swig before answering her. “Remember I told you about Quincy? And about the Massacre? Well it seems tonight my brain’s not letting me shut down. I just – I keep seeing their faces. He was supposed to be one of us, one of the good guys, and he turned on us,” he snaps his fingers, “just like that. It was a slaughter. So many innocent lives just  _taken_  in an instant. And I can’t help but feel-”

“Responsible?”

Preston looks at her through the corner of his eye. The fire illuminates one half of his face, leaving the rest in darkness. “Angry.  _Furious_. If I could, I’d go after them myself, kill them all. But I can’t. There are too many of them. At least, too many for me to take on alone.”

Anna stares at him, hoping her expression is masking the horror underneath. She’s never seen Preston like this before. Perhaps it’s the alcohol, bringing to the surface his well-guarded emotions. But whatever it is, it’s bringing about a whole new side to Preston that she is honestly a little unnerved by. 

She chuckles, trying to lighten the mood. “Well listen, if I ever end up in Quincy, I’ll make sure to give ‘em hell for you. Don’t you worry.”

He barks a laugh. “If you ever end up in Quincy? You make it sound like I won’t be there with you when you go.”

“Well… _yeah_. I mean, it doesn’t seem like the best place for you to go to, so I figured –”

“You know,” Preston quickly interrupts. “It’s a real shame nobody asked you for your opinion on the matter. If you’re going to Quincy, then so am I. This is my fight and I’m not about to let someone else take it from me, no matter how good their intentions are.”

Anna’s quick to shut up then. She mutters a  _“Well okay then”_  to herself before the two of them silently decide that, for the moment at least, awkward silence and alcohol are the best way forward. 

It’s only with the quiet patter of Dogmeat’s paws that the awkward silence breaks. He joins them by the fire, laying down between Preston’s feet, his head on his boot. The dark look on Preston’s face softens as he reaches down to scratch behind Dogmeat’s ear. 

“When I find my way down there, you wanna come shoot up Gunners with me? I can bring the big guns if you want?”

The smile on Preston’s face when he replies is radiant. “It’s a date."


	6. Scattered Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slight spoilers again, for more Minutemen quests. Another main one mentioned in this.

“Just let me look at it. Please. It’s the least I can do to make up for catching you in my blast radius.” 

To Anna’s relief, Preston finally relents and lets her take a look at him. He may have already used a stimpak or two, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t need looking at to make sure nothing’s going to scar. 

“Now, where did I get you?”

Preston motions to his left side. “Mainly my arm and shoulder, but there might be more elsewhere. It’s hard to tell right now. I’m a little high on pain meds, thanks to our medic and the generous dosage they went and gave me. I think they need a little more training personally, but they’re new so I guess they’re still leaning.” 

Anna asks him to remove his coat and he eases it off, wincing as he bends his arm and shimmies out of it. He removes his shirt next, both of them realising that if she’s going to see his wounds then he’s going to have to strip a little more. She can’t help but feel guilty as she takes in the damage she’s done to him. His chest is burned, as is his arm. It doesn’t look as raw as she’s sure it did earlier, but it’s barely healed. “Jesus fucking Christ. I am so fucking sorry. I didn’t -”

“It’s okay General. If you didn’t get me, that Mirelurk Queen was gonna. I think I’d rather take a bad burn injury over being chopped in half by a giant claw any day.” He’s trying to laugh it off and Anna’s finding herself staring at that lovely, though somewhat strained, smile of his. 

“Or,” she offers, “you could’ve been out of both of our ways, safe behind cover while you shot at the thing from there. I should’ve shouted to warn you all or something, not just…fired wildly. Remind me to learn how to use that fucking thing properly.” 

Preston chuckles. “Oh I will do. I’d rather not risk another stray missile in the near future. You don’t plan on carrying that thing around with you, do you?”

The look on Anna’s face makes him groan in mild terror. 

“Well I’m not now…”

“I’m gonna put a call out in the morning and see if the Minutemen have anyone around who can train you up a little. You’re good with your rifle, but your handling seemed pretty non-existent with that missile launcher. Or are you telling me you intended to miss most of those shots?” 

Anna wishes the ground would eat her up right now. She can feel her face heat up, so buries her face in her collar. “Shut it. I meant to do that.” 

He’s grinning as he laughs. “Right. Sure you did.” He cuts off abruptly and clutches his side, wincing and stilfing his groans of pain. 

Anna resists the urge to stick her tongue out at him, though only just. “That’s what you get for laughing at me. Now, do you want a shot of Med-X to ease the pain, or a Stimpak? Or…something,  _anything_?” Her medical knowledge is limited, but she knows how to patch herself up well enough. Other people though…

To her relief though, Preston shakes his head. “Nah, I’ll be fine. The medic already did all they could with me. I just need to not open it again and I’ll be fine.” 

“Well good, I guess.” She trails off, unsure of what else to say. If anything more even needs saying. 

Her eyes wander, trying to find somewhere to look as the silence between them stretches. Her gaze settles back on his chest. She figures it a safe place to look, direct eye contact seeming too awkward right now. 

She realises her mistake as soon as she catches herself checking him out. He’s lean, though lacking any real body fat, Anna notices.  _Likely a common trait now, what with the food situation as it is_. Her hand automatically goes to her stomach and she can’t help but feel suddenly rather fat by comparison. She’s all soft thighs and flabby stomach, with her only visbile muscle showing on her arms, but then she’s always had her guns as she likes to call them. 

She shakes the thought. No. She likes her body, always has. She has thighs that could kill a man and apparently her slight stomach is something to envy here in the Commonwealth. She is attractive god damn it.

“General? You in there?” 

Anna shakes herself and smiles at him. She’s not sure how long she’s been staring, but apparently it’s been too long to be socially acceptable anymore. “Sorry. I was miles away.” 

“I was saying, we should go see if anything needs our attention out there. They’d started working out extensive the nests are last I checked.” 

“Of course.” Anna then nods towards Preston’s chest, “And you should probably get dressed. Can you manage fine, or do you need a little…” She trails off, taking one last look at his chest.

“No, I can manage. Thanks for the offer though.” He chuckles as he pulls his shirt back on and Anna can’t help but know she’s been caught ogling him. 

_Oh well. There’s worse things to be caught doing._


	7. Heavy Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slight Minutemen spoilers. Very slight.

“I’ll leave you to look around. Come find me when you’re done.”

Anna barely hears Ronnie speak, too entralled by the contents of the room she’s stood in. She mutters something at her which was supposed to be a confirmation, though the grumble it earns her from Ronnie tells her it hasn’t come out right at all. 

She’s so engrossed in her excitement that she doesn’t hear Preston come up next to her. “This is some heavy fire power. We can make good use of this.” 

Anna jumps, clutching her hand to her heart. She curses and takes in deep breaths to try and calm herself. “Give a girl some warning next time!” 

“I did. You were too engrossed to notice anything. You know, you’ve been stood for five minutes just drooling and staring off into space.” 

Any other time Anna would likely fluster and look away awkwardly, but this is an exception. “But  _look_!” She moves over to one of the tables. “It’s a god damn flamethrower! Do you know how much I love those things? And do you how hard I’ve been trying to find one of these?” She practically runs over to the next table. “Or  _look_! Do you know what this is?”

“Well yeah, it’s a Fat Man.” 

She scoffs. “You say it like it’s no big deal. We just gained a mother-fucking Fat Man mini nuke launcher. That’s a huge deal!” 

Anna’s too excited to notice Preston fluster and shift uncomfortably. He however, is fully observant and rather confused  “Are you…Are you  _crying_?” 

She nods rapidly, a grin splitting her face as she starts to laugh. 

“ _Why_?”

“Because  _look at all this shit!_  I’m in heaven right now Preston! And I’ve not even had chance to look at how the artillery will come together yet - which by the way, I am  _so_ excited for. I should go talk to Ronnie to sort out its assembly.”

She makes for the door, but Preston holds a hand out to stop her. “Don’t you think you should…compose yourself first?” 

Finally, she calms. “Of course. You’re right. The General should be presentable, and I imagine I look a right state right now. Thanks Preston.” She finds the nearest reflective surface and begins inspecting her makeup in her makeshift mirror, tidying up the mascara underneath her eyes where it’s smudged from crying. 

Preston leaves her to it. Hopefully when she re-emerges from the armoury Anna will have calmed a little and be in a better state to discuss matters with Ronnie. Though, given their plans to build and test the artillery, he highly doubts that. 


	8. Ghoul Problem

“Fuck ‘em. That’s the fifth fucking time they’ve asked me to clear out ghouls at that god-forsaken place. The last time we went there was nothing but fucking mole rats, and whoever keeps putting a fucking turret on the fucking roof can suck my ginger balls because fuck that thing too!”

Preston tries to keep up as Anna bounds ahead, anger fueling her stride. He holds back his laughter as he speaks. “Don’t you think you’re over-reacting babe? They need your help.”

“They always need my help. Why is this the General’s job, huh? Why can’t any of the other Minutemen do this?” She continues before Preston can answer, not that he really has one for her. “It’s not like I have other shit to do with my time like, oh I don’t know,  _try to take down the fucking Brotherhood of Steel_. I’m sure a few of our guys could handle a fucking pack of feral ghouls. They’re not that intelligent after all.” 

He lets her rant away as they walk, taking larger strides than normal as somehow the smaller woman outpaces him. 

She’s almost running by the time they reach the National Guard Training Yard. They’ve been here too many times. Preston hates to admit it, but he can see why she’s annoyed at having to be back here once again. _Maybe someone should just torch the place, stop anything from making it their home again._  He puts a pin in that thought for later. She’d love that option. 

“Come on then. Let’s get this over with. Don’t worry, I already have the key. It’s on my chain, since we’re here so often.” 

He’s chuckling as he follows her inside. He’d never admit it out loud - well, not after the first time - but she’s rather cute when she’s angry. “Let’s do this, General.” 


	9. Sure Thing, General

She smiles to herself as she wakes and feels a warmth wrapped around her body. It is a familiar feeling, yet alien at the same time. But damn if she hasn’t missed this. Anna turns her head to look at the person curled around her, still fast asleep.

 _Preston_. 

Her smile grows and she turns in his arms. She wants to look at him properly, steal a glance at that handsome face of his and study his features. Just enjoy this for a little longer, before the Commonwealth steals all of their time. 

She instantly regrets it as he too begins to stir. “Mmm…mornin’ General.” 

Anna chuckles quietly to herself. “Mornin’ yourself.” 

He blinks rapidly as he wakes, trying to clear vision. Her smiling face greets him and he can’t help but grin up at her. “What time is it?”

“I haven’t checked. It’s probably late though.” It’s mornings like this where Anna misses days off. The ability to lie in. She just wants to enjoy this warm fuzzy feeling, just for another hour or so. 

But at least she can enjoy a few selfish moments with Preston. “We should get up then. Plenty to do today.” 

She groans and buries her head in his chest. His laughter rumbles through her and she feels a hand stroking through her hair. “Just let me enjoy this a little longer.  _Please_.” 

“Sure thing General.” 

Her head snaps up and for a brief moment Preston is taken back. “Please, stop.” He looks at her puzzled. “In here I’m not your General. I’m just Anna and I’m all yours. Not the Minutemen’s, not the Commonwealth’s. It’s just you and me. Okay?”

He nods and grins. “Sure thing… _General_.” 


	10. Hair - Part 1

“I can’t believe it actually comes down.”

Anna chuckles quietly to herself and leaves Preston to his fun. The last time he saw her with her hair down like this he’d not had time to enjoy the moment; her clothes had come off quickly after and he was more interested in her than her hair. Not that she blamed him. He was pretty distracting himself. 

“It’s so long. I mean, I knew it was long - that’s why you have it pinned up - but this is just… God, it’s so nice.” He’s long since finished brushing through her hair and is now just combing through it with his fingers. His touch is gentle and she closes her eyes and leans into him, enjoying the feeling. She can’t remember the last time anyone’s played with her hair. 

“You should have it down more often.”

Anna shakes her head. “And have it ruined by blood and lord know what else? No thanks. I’d rather it have constant kinks in it than have it be red for reasons that aren’t my natural hair colour.”

“Good point. Well, up suits you too. Look.” He gathers her hair up in his hands in a make-shift bun and Anna wriggles away, laughing, her hair falling out of his hands and back around her face. “What? I thought it looked good.”

Her smile shines through as she scowls at him. “I beg to differ.” 

She’s beaming by the time he’s pulled her to him and is kissing her, peppering her face with kisses until she’s giggling in his arms. 


	11. A Better Understanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some spoilers for the main plot, but they're not too heavy

She doesn’t want to be back here. If she could choose, she’d never come back here. But he needs to see this. It’s easier to explain what went on in her head this way. And if he wants her, he needs to see who she was, not just who she is now. 

“This is the one.” 

He’s hesitant to approach with her, but Preston does so anyway. Her hands are shaking, from the cold or fear he’s not sure, but she seems to steady a little when he takes one of her hands in his. Anna glances over at him before returning her gaze to the pod in front of them. “You okay with doing this?”

She nods. “Yeah, I think so.” 

She squeezes Preston’s hand before letting it go and steps up to the pod. He’s still frozen, the cold preserving his body. He looks like when he’d just entered the pod, only covered in ice and with a bullet wound in his chest. He’s still just as handsome though, even with his hair still mussed from the run to the vault. But his usual smile is missing, replaced instead by a look of pain and fear. 

“I wish he looked more…peaceful. I could pretend he just died from the cold, like everyone else in this hell hole. But he didn’t. Kellog shot him and stole my son. And the only reason he didn’t shoot me too is because they needed a  _spare_. It’s sick, isn’t it?” 

She feels a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently to try and offer what little comfort possible. “Do you wanna do something for him?”

Anna nods. “Yeah. I can’t leave him like this, I just - I can’t.” 

“Then lets think of something, okay?” They both look around the room until Preston sees the lockers in the corner. “Didn’t you say you saw some makeshift coffins in that vault next to 81? Why don’t we do something like that?” 

“It’s better than just leaving him here to rot, I guess.” She’s handled many a corpse, but the idea of manhandling her dead husband doesn’t sit well in Anna’s stomach. Still, it’s either that or leaving him here, and that idea is even more unpleasant to her. 

They find a trolley to wheel him out on, as well as use it to move one of the lockers over to his cryopod. There’s a loud  _thunk_ as he hits the metal and she has to stop herself from going to check on him.  _He can’t feel it now_. Preston offers to wheel him out after that. He can see the look on Anna’s face, and sure she’s coping but only just. She brought him down here so to not be alone, and honestly this is the least he can do for her. 

He lets her lead the way, walking back towards Sanctuary until they are in her old back garden. She nips inside her house and returns with a shovel in each hand. They say nothing as they dig and it’s only when the hole is finally deep enough that either of them speak. 

“How about we take an end each?” 

It’s a tight fit, but they manage. Just. 

They stand at the edge of his grave then, taking a moment before they cover him up. Preston waits for Anna to speak, again not sure of what he should say. 

He watches then as she toys with one of the rings on her hand. She seems torn, trying to decide what to do with the thing. Remove it or keep it on? Finally she makes a decision and removes the simple gold band. She holds her hand out over his grave, ring in her fist. “This is the last thing I have of Graham’s. The blast destroyed anything else of value.” She pauses for a moment before clutching her hand to her chest. “I can’t. He still means a lot to me.” 

Preston offers his hand to her and hesitantly she opens her fist. He takes the ring from her palm and, with her permission, places it in her breast pocket. “Then keep it. There’s no reason to get rid of the thing, but if you don’t want to wear it I understand that too. It’s up to you what you do Anna.” 

She smiles up at him sadly before stretching up to place a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you for understanding.” She lingers for a moment before rolling back onto the flats of her feet and grabbing her shovel again. “We should finish this, before it gets dark.” 

He agrees and picks back up his own shovel, waiting until she’s thrown the first shovel of dirt on his makeshift coffin. 

She cries as they bury him. Preston waits until they’re done, carrying on shoveling and waits for her to move. She breaks when they pat the top flat, sinking to her knees beside her husband’s grave. He joins her by her side and Anna clings to him, sobbing on his shoulder. They remain there until the sun goes down, when Anna looks up and mutters that they should go inside. 

She’s got her pack of cigarettes out before the door to her house is shut, but her hands are shaking too much to get one out of the packet. Preston helps her then lights it for her too. Anna sighs as she takes the first drag. It’s been a long day, or it certainly feels like it, and damn if this isn’t good right now. 

He watches as she slowly relaxes. The tension in her body and brow ease, but her expression is otherwise unchanged. 

“Will you stay with me tonight?” The look in her eyes makes it pretty clear she needs this. Heck, even if he’d have been unsure of his answer, that look would’ve made him stay. 

“Of course. I’m wherever you need me.” 


	12. A Thoughtful Gesture

He watches her finish working before coming to speak with her. “General, you got a minute?”

Anna sets down her hammer and wipes her brow. She’s sweaty from the heat and the exertion, and her hair is in a rare state of dishevelment. It makes a pleasant change for him to see her like this. “Sure. What’s up?” 

Preston motions for her to follow him somewhere quieter and Anna follows after him, curious as to what he wants to show her. He stops just inside of one of the settler’s houses. They’re all out working the field or guarding the way in, so no one’s inside now, not that they’d mind anyway. The Minutemen had just dealt with the local supermutant problem, so he’s sure they can stomach them being in their house. 

“I’ve got something for you.” She cocks her head at him and looks up at him with an amused smirk on her lips. He asks again. “Close your eyes.” 

Anna humours him, closing her eyes and holding out her hands in front of her. She feels a cool metal something trickle into her hands and when she feels it stop she cracks open one eye. “A chain? Wow, thanks Preston. Just what I always wanted.” Her voice is thick with sarcasm and he can’t help but roll his eyes at her.

“Yes, it’s a chain. But I gave you it for a reason. You still got Graham’s ring on you? And yours too?” 

Anna nods and hands him both rings, one from her breast pocket, the other from her hand. She then watches as he threads both on the gold chain, so they sit side by side. When he’s done he holds it out before him and asks Anna to turn around. The metal of the rings and the chain is cold against her collarbone as he does the clasp behind her neck, but the weight there is strangely comforting, and they quickly warm up against her skin. 

“I know you’ve been trying to come up with a solution to your problem over yours and Graham’s wedding rings, so I thought this might be a good solution for you.” 

At first he’s worried it was a terrible idea. Anna says nothing, simply stares into space and grasps the rings tightly in her fist. His worry changes then and he thinks she’s angry at him - though why he has no idea - as she throws herself at him. But she’s not mad. Her arms lock around his neck and she holds onto him as tightly as she’d just held onto those rings. Her breathing falters and Preston’s sure he hears Anna choke back a sob. “This is so thoughtful Preston. Thank you. So so much.” 

He holds onto her until she lets go, stands on her tiptoes and places a quick but soft kiss on his lips. Preston looks down at her, wide-eyed and stunned. “It’s, erm, it’s nothing.” She smiles up at him and Preston has to clear his throat and distract him from the heat he can feel rising in his cheeks. “Anyway, I should probably let you get back to…whatever you were doing before.”

Preston makes to leave, but Anna catches his arm. “Share a nightcap with me tonight?” She’s smiling still, but there’s worry in her eyes. 

“Course. See you then.” 


	13. A Much-Needed Discussion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ever so slight spoilers for Preston's romance dialogue, though I've reworked it to fit the scene.

It’s clear she’s been expecting him. She’s already fished out two surprisingly unchipped glasses from her pack and a bottle of whiskey from her cooler. Either she’d heard him coming, or she’s been eagerly awaiting him and Preston can’t help but hope it’s the latter.

He knocks before he opens the door, hearing her call him in. She’s smiling when she greets him. “I was beginning to wonder where you were.”

“Mama Murphy was complaining about a leak over her seat again and saying someone had to fix it for her. And amazingly Sturges suddenly had a wall to fix and was too busy to help.” He rolls his eyes and sighs. He’d been trying to get her up off that chair, but she’d seemed glued to the thing and wouldn’t let him move the chair to avoid the supposed leak. Though with the roof in its current state of disrepair, what else did she expect? 

“She asked me to put her chair there. I even warned her that that part of the roof was especially holey, but she insisted because she had a radio next to her. Even though I’m sure that thing could be moved. I take no blame for this.” 

Preston chuckles as he joins Anna on the sofa, taking the glass she offers him. “I never said I blamed you. You put those words in my mouth.”

“I can put something else in there if you like.” 

He chokes, trying to cover the sound with a series of coughs which are unconvincing at best. “I hope you mean a cigarette.” She raises her eyebrows at him, smirk on her face, and he can feel heat rising in his face. “Well I’ll still take that cigarette, if there’s one going.”

He waits until his cigarette’s lit before making a tactical change of subject. “So uh listen, I’ve been meaning to ask you something for a while now, but things being as they are, I’ve not had chance to ask until now.”

Anna sets down her glass. “Uh oh. You sound serious.”

“Well that’s the thing, I am serious. Totally serious. I just need to know if you are too. It’s just - look, I know he’s gone, but you still seem to be in love with your husband. I didn’t think you were ready to move on, but you seem to be saying otherwise, just not in those words. So, is this - the blatant flirting - just you having some fun to get over him or are you actually serious about it? Because I wouldn’t wanna read things wrong, especially given your circumstance. But I really do care about you Anna. Quite a lot actually.” 

She sets down her cigarette in the nearby ashtray and shuffles closer to him. She can hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears and she’s fairly sure he can hear it too. “Preston…You mean so much to me. Yes, I still love Graham, but I don’t have to stop loving him to be able to love you too. Graham’s dead and I’ll always hold him in my heart, but I can’t spend all my time clinging onto the past. And I - ah - fuck.” She trails off, the pounding in her chest suddenly very distracting, making it difficult to form a coherent sentence before she says it.

She tries again. “What I’m trying to say is I care about you Preston and I -” She cuts off again, but Preston’s beaming smile reassures her that even if she thinks she’s tripping over her words, she’s clearly said something good because damn does he look happy.

“You don’t need to say anything else. But I would like to kiss you again, because you kinda caught me off guard earlier and I didn’t get chance to re-”

He stiffens for a moment as he’s cut off mid-sentence. Anna draws back as she feels him tense, instantly regretting her decision to kiss him without warning. “Sorry, it’s just - you said -”

Preston returns the favour, silencing her with a kiss. Neither one pulls away this time, instead they both soften into one another. Anna’s arms wrap around his neck as his wind around her torso, drawing one another close. When they find themselves needing to part for breath they remain in each other’s embrace, foreheads resting together.

“Stay with me tonight. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, but stay with me. _Sleep_ with me. And not just on the sofa. Lord knows that just fucks up my neck, and I’m sure it does yours.” 

He chuckles and places a light kiss on the end of her nose. “Sure thing babe. I gotta say, it’ll make a nice change from Sturges’ snoring.”

“Not as much as you might like, I’m afraid. Even I can hear it in here.”

Preston laughs again. “Well at least I’ll have more pleasant company.”

“Yeah, at least there’s that.”


	14. Sleep

He wishes he had a camera handy to capture this moment forever. The warm glow of the morning sun slips through the cracks in the roof and shines on the naked body of the woman sleeping beside him. Anna, the General, the love of his life. 

Preston chuckles softly at the thought. _The love of this life_. God, he sounds like some enamoured teenager. But it feels good to finally be ableo to speak the words. He’d feared saying them for so long, worried if it was too soon or too inappropriate given her still-new status as a widow. But she’d smiled brightly when he’d said them and exhaled a sigh of relief.  _“And here I thought I was just being silly. Preston, I love you too. So fucking much.”_

He smiles as he takes in the sight of her. Soft curves and rolls of flesh. Red hair forming an sort of halo in the sunlight. He’s seen it plenty of times before, but it feels different this time. Perhaps it’s the tightness in his chest, no longer bound by unspoken affections, simply swelling with affection when he looks at her. Or perhaps it’s simply a feeling of contentedness. Because despite all he’d believed he deserved, with her he is happy. 

Anna scrunches her eyes tight shut as she stirs awake, the light from the sun blinding her. She rolls and buries her head in his chest, muttering something unintelligible under her breath. 

“Mornin’ sunshine.” He’s grinning now as she fumbles around, trying to find the pillow to pull over her face, and he can’t help but chuckle at the sight. 

She groans again. “Urgh, tell the sun to fuck off. I was sleeping and it woke me up.” 

Preston chuckles. “Well hello to you too. Here, lemme help.” He takes the pillow from over her and holds his hand over her face, shielding her eyes from the morning sun. “Better?”

“I suppose. Though I’d much rather still be asleep.” 

She feels a hand run up her thigh. His touch is light but her skin is sensitive and it raises goosebumps. A shiver runs over her skin and she lets out a small appreciative hum. 

“You sure about that?” 

She watches with mild amusement as Preston’s hand creeps further up her thigh, tickling along her hipline. She snorts a laugh and takes his hand in hers. “Yes, I am. Now let a girl sleep please. I’m still knackered from the pounding you gave me last night.” She settles back down, burying her face in his chest and shielding it from the morning sun. She feels Preston’s laugh rumble and smiles to herself. 

It’s almost noon by the time she finally decides to face the day. 


	15. Slow News Day

She knows she’s in trouble when the door to Publik Occurences swings open and slams shut and an angry Anna storms into her office. “Blue, is everything -”

“Is this some kind of joke?” She waits for a moment before repeating herself and shoving a newspaper into Piper’s hands. 

Piper fidgets on the spot. “Ah. You read that, did you?” 

“I wasn’t planning on it, but after I had a woman come up to me and slap me because  _apparently_ I stole all her bobby pins I felt inclined to know what was going on.” She strides around Piper’s office, her short legs somewhat ruining the otherwise intimidating effect. “When I said you could quote me on keeping hundreds of bobby pins in my hair, I didn’t mean you could then embellish that into, well,  _this_.” 

Anna takes the newspaper from Piper and finds the page. “ _When asked how her hair remains so perfect, despite the harsh conditions she faces in our beloved Commonwealth, Miss Bell stated that she uses an ‘insane’ amount of bobby pins. ‘I take any I see,’ she said, before going on to say that she is ‘pretty sure (she) own(s) most of the Commonwealth’s bobby pins in (her) hair’. Given how well her hat stays on her head in a fight and how flawless her hair looks 24/7, this is easy to believe.”_

They’re silent for a moment then. Piper opens and closes her mouth a few times to say something, but each time she decides otherwise and tries to find a better way to express what she wants to say. 

It is Anna who breaks the silence. “Piper sweetie, next time you’re having a slow news day, can you  _not_ exaggerate shit about me? I don’t like being slapped by random people.” She’s smiling as she speaks, letting Piper know she’s not really mad, more mildly disgruntled. She’d been having a pretty good day until she’d been ambushed on the way out of the Dugout Inn.

Piper returns her smile. “I’m afraid I can only promise so much, Blue. But I’ll do my best.” 


	16. Questions and Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Main plot spoilers ahead

She looks like she’s about to throw up when Anna relays back into Sanctuary. Everyone scrambles to check on her, making way for Preston as he barges past them to get to her side. “Anna, are you okay?”

She says nothing, simply shakes her head and leans on him for support. Her hand finds his and she grasps it tightly, clinging onto him. “Get me home.” 

He nods and shoots the gathered crowd a look that makes them all scatter and return to their previously abandoned jobs. Anna stops Sturges before he can return to hammering nails into nothing and thrusts something into his hand. “I got it.” He looks down at his palm. A holotape.

She’s gone before he has time to thank her. 

Her jacket is the first thing to come off once she’s in the safety of her home-made house. The leather is too tight right now, the high collar making the already difficult task of breathing even more challenging. Preston takes over, her own fingers too shaky to keep hold of the zipper, and she sighs as the collar loosens. She shrugs off the heavy leather coat and lets it fall to the floor. She can tidy that up later, but right now she wants nothing more than to curl up in bed and cry.

Preston quickly throws her coat on the back of a chair, knowing it will bug them both if it stays there, then joins her on the bed. He coaxes her head onto his lap and she curls beside him, legs tucked up to her chest. His hand strokes her hair away from her face as he speaks, voice soft. “So what happened?”

“I found Alexander. But I didn’t get my closure. I just got mad.” 

He lets her words sink in for a moment. “Your found your son? What happened?” 

Anna sits up and looks at Preston. Her eyes shine with tears which are on the verge of spilling. She sighs before speaking. “A lot.” She’s not sure where to start, so she just talks. About finding Alexander and the synth boy Shaun. About how Alexander was not a baby, nor a child, but a man now, and an aged one at that. About the reason for her departure from Vault 111. The reason for her unfreezing - him. About his total lack of empathy towards the Commonwealth, towards his father’s - _Graham’s_ \- death. His obliviousness towards the Institute’s perception of them in the Commonwealth, towards her fear of them and what he is. About his confusion over her anger, which only grew the more he spoke. 

Preston exhales a long sigh when she’s finally done. Her words have been a jumble and they are difficult to process in one go. “Wow. That’s…an awful lot to take in.” 

She chuckles, the sound shaky. “I know right?” Anna rakes her hands across her face, not caring that she’s smearing her already tired makeup. Tears sting her eyes and she can feel herself shaking. “ _Fuuuck_. Fuck. Fuck. _Fuck_.” 

She needs a cigarette, but her hands and nerves are too shaky for that right now. Instead she curls up, balling herself up on Preston’s lap. He says little as she cries, wearing herself out. It’s the first time he’s seen her cry like this in a long time and the first time it’s not accidental. She’s held so much back for so long that now it’s finally flowing it’s hard to stop. 

All of it comes out. Losing Graham. Losing Alexander. Being thrown out of time and into a world that’s so familiar and yet so alien. Having to rebuild her life from scratch. And now this. 

Eventually her sobbing quietens and Preston realises that Anna has fallen asleep, too tired to cry any longer. She looks oddly peaceful like this, like a weight has lifted from her shoulders. The effects of stress seem clearer on her face now. The dark circles around her eyes stand out more, though her seemily constant scowl is thankfully gone. It’s a look she wears more and more as the days pass and he hates to see it become a seemingly permanent fixture. 

He’s as careful as he can be when he finally decides to move Anna from his lap, the call of nature too strong to ignore any longer. She stirs awake, but quickly falls back to sleep once her head hits the pillow. When he returns he finds Anna curled up in a ball again, teddy bear tucked tight against her chest. Preston wastes little time wondering where on earth that came from, instead kicking off his boots and joining her in bed. She turns instinctively into him, head buried into his chest, and he wraps his arms around her and holds her tight. 

Soon enough, sleep takes him too. 

* * *

The sound of soft snoring and the feeling of hot breath tickling the top of her head greet her as she wakes up. Her head is groggy, the kind that doesn’t clear when sleep does, and her throat has that familiar tickle that signals a sore throat. Just what she wants. 

Anna lays there for lord knows how long, waiting for Preston to wake up. They’re going to have a lot to talk about when he does. She’s fairly sure that most of what came out the night before was a garbled mess, her emotions getting the better of her - not that it was a surprise, given the cirumstance. Still, it’s something she needs to address both alone and with her current partner, if for no other reason than to make as much sense of it as possible. 

She smiles weakly at him when he finally wakes up. For a brief, blissful moment he’s too asleep to remember all the shit from the night before, the reason why they’re curled up in bed like they are. She can pinpoint the exact second it all comes back to him, his sleepy smile faltering and concern filling those beautiful eyes of his. “Mornin’ babe. How are you feeling?” 

“Shit.” Her voice is hoarse and yep, that’s definitely got a sore throat. “Both physicaly and emotionally so.” She coughs to try and clear her throat, but instead it feels like she’s swallowing tacks. 

“I don’t wanna leave this room today. Not even if the world blows up again.” 

Preston draws her closer, buries his face in her hair and kisses the top of her hair. “We can do whatever you want.” 

“Can we go back in time? Stop me from going to that fucking place?” 

Any other time Preston would’ve laughed quietly, but the sadness in her voice stops him. “I’m afraid not.” He doesn’t say it, but they both know she needed to go there. She may not have liked what she found, but she needed answers. And like it or not, that’s exactly what she got. 


	17. Turrets and Miniguns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompted from a terrible pun my friend made

He can’t help himself.

He can’t help but watch as she bends - well squats really, but his mind is too distracted for technicalities like that – shirt tied around her waist and vest soaked with sweat, shorts clinging to the curve of her rear and digging in at the flesh of her thighs. Her hair is still tied up, but clusters have come out of their pins, cling to her neck which he watches as she works, fascinated as she stretches her neck, easing an ache which must be threatening to set in. She’s been tinkering with that same turret for the best part of an hour now and she seems to just be getting more frustrated with it rather than actually fixing it.

He _was_ working on a turret of his own, but he quickly lost interest in his when he realised that he was going to make no progress with this particular machine and that something _far_ more interesting was not too far away. He can’t help but shift uncomfortably and adjust his pants, clear his throat.

A loud bang sounds, followed by an engine firing up. “Mother fucker! _Got you!_ ” Anna laughs joyously and Preston watches as she stands and stretches out, watching her work chunter away again. “ _No_ machine gets the better of _me_ god damn it!”

After one more lingering look, Preston turns his attention to the woman now approaching him triumphantly. “So I can see. I’ve had no luck with mine. Perhaps you’d better take a look at it for me.”

“I think you’ve got other concerns right now Preston.” Anna glances down, nodding slightly to draw his attention to where she’s looking. There’s a smirk on her lips and she chuckles as she speaks. “You stashed a minigun in those pants, or are you just _really_ happy for me?”

Preston shuffles again, adjusts his pants a second time. “A bit of both actually. Maybe you should see to it though, check it’s in good working condition. Maybe it needs playing with.” Preston watches as Anna’s smirk vanishes, turns to a look of pure surprise, and he can’t help but feel somewhat smug. For all of about five seconds. “Shit, did I really just say th-”

“How about you get that butt of yours inside so we can whip your pants off and I can fiddle with your nozzle? Check that _gun_ of yours is still shooting fine.” Any anxiety he’d had instantly vanishes and he gladly lets her drag him down by his collar to kiss him. His mind is reeling when she draws back and he watches as she walks towards the main building towards her quarters, eyes instantly lowering to watch her hips sway – intentional on her part, he’s sure. “You coming?”

He can’t help but mumble quietly as he follows her. “Oh, I know I will be.”


	18. Easy Living

_Living for you is_ _easy living_  
_It’s easy to live when you’re in love_  
_And I’m so in love  
_ _There’s nothing in life but you_

* * *

She spies the radio on their way back out and Piper sighs, rolling her eyes as she watches Anna tune the radio to the same old station. Diamond City Radio. God, she does this every time they pass a damned radio. At least this time they’ve already cleared out the raiders and the place is empty. No one to alert to their being there. 

_Living for you –_

The radio shuts off as soon as it’s turned on and Piper shoots Anna a puzzled look. “What’s up Blue? Don’t ya wanna listen to that song?”

Anna simply shakes her head. Her chipper smile has vanished and instead she looks like she’s about to cry any second now. “No, not that song. Come on, let’s get outta here.”

Piper says no more on the matter as they leave the bunker. She knows Anna better than to push her for an explanation. She likes her head firmly where it is on her neck and shoulders, thank you very much.

* * *

“Let me take your mind off whatever it is it’s stuck on. Please.” Preston tugs at her hand and Anna grumbles, reluctant to stand. “Come on, dance with me. I won’t step on your toes, I promise.” He smiles down at her, warm and inviting, and Anna finds it hard to say no to him. 

She sighs. “Fine. But I should warn you, I’ve danced since my wedding. So I’m going to be terrible.” She lets Preston drag her up off the sofa and into the middle of the living room. He leaves her there a moment to go change the station on the radio, turning off the usual shanties from Radio Freedom and turning over to Diamond City Radio. Truth be told she’s glad for the change. There’s only so long she can stand to listen to what sounds like the same song over and over again, and she much prefers the nostalgia she feels whenever Diamond City Radio is on. It’s about the only thing around here that feels like home anymore. 

“Well I’m sure you’re not  _that_  terrible. And hey, if you are, we can be terrible together.”

Anna smiles weakly up at Preston as he draws her into his arms, settling his hands on her hips while she stretches up onto her tiptoes, drapes her arms around his neck. “ _And next up we have Billie Holiday with Easy Living.”_ Anna stiffens slightly, but Preston hushes her, whispering that it’s alright.  _He doesn’t know._  She sniffs back a tear. 

_Living with you is easy living_

She lets him sway them to the beat. His right foot comes forward, then the left, before the right closes next to it. She mirrors his footsteps. A simple box step waltz. Slow and easy. Perfect for those who aren’t the best of dancers. Just like her. Just like  _them_. 

_It’s easy to live when you’re in love_

He hums along to the melody. His voice is so lovely when he sings, she wishes he’d sing along, help fill the bittersweet memory with something new, something different. She rarely hears him sing, but when she does she always wants to hear more. She wishes he’d sing right now. 

_And I’m so in love_

She remembers the last time she’d danced to this. The last time she’d danced like this, slow and intimate. So long ago. Such a happy day, though most of her memories with  _him_  were happy.  _He_  made her happy. 

_There’s nothing in life but you_

He doesn’t realise anything is wrong until she starts shaking. Sobs wrack through her body and he has to lift her head off his shoulder to see for himself that she’s crying. “Hey, what’s wrong? Babe?” 

Anna tries to speak, but no intelligible words come from her mouth, only cracked and choked sounds that tried to be words but failed to form upon leaving her mouth. She points towards the radio and Preston quickly turns it off. He’s unsure of what it’s done to offend her, but whatever it is, leaving it on clearly isn’t helping.  

“Anna, whatever it is I am so sorry.” 

In amongst her choked words, a few broken sounds piece together.  _Graham. Wedding_. It’s enough to shed some light on what’s wrong. “Shit. I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I wouldn’t have – ”

She shakes her head, mumbling “ _It’s okay_ ” over and over again. This isn’t his fault. He had no idea about that song, why would he? Though, she realises, at some point – when she’s calmed – she will have to tell him about anything else like this. For both their sakes. 

She spends the rest of the evening with her head in his lap. At some point he turns back on Radio Freedom. She finds it oddly soothing. The repetition of it. The timbre. Easy to drown yourself in. No thought required to listen to it. Perfect. Exactly what she needs right now. 

He strokes her hair as she cries softly on his lap, the action soothing, just like the music. Before too long she falls to sleep, if only lightly. 

Preston listens to her steady breathing as she naps, glad to hear her calm once again. He makes a mental note to never play that song around her again. He’s never seen her like this before and lord knows he never wants to do this to her again. 

He’s glad to see her expression is peaceful as he strokes back a lock of hair away from face. 

_And I’m so in love  
There’s nothing in life but you_


	19. Hair - Part 2

“It’s…short.” 

Anna sighs and shifts her weight onto one hip, waiting for him to say something else. “It was short before.”

“No, it was hidden under a hat before.” Anna exhales a long breath as Preston collects himself and tries again. “It suits you. The look’s a little… _harder_ than before, but it suits you.” 

She runs a hand through her hair. It’s going to take some getting used to. The shaved sides, the relaxed mohawk. It would never have been her first choice, but given how little hair she’d given Horatio to work with, it’s the best she could’ve hoped for. 

“I guess I was due a change,” Anna admits. “And this isn’t so bad. It shows off my cheekbones.” 

She smiles weakly. She’s trying to see the positive here, if nothing else for his sake. She’s lost most of her hair, one of the few things she’d managed to hold onto from her old life. She’s lost some of it to the fire, the rest to scissors as they’d tried to rectify the damage done in the first place. She’s been wearing a hat to cover it up for a while now, too long really. She’s been putting it off rather than just sorting out her hair. So to finally remove that hat is both terrifying and liberating. Mostly terrifying. 

Preston runs a gentle hand along her cheek, stopping at her chin. He tips her chin up so she looks at him. “They’re some damn fine cheekbones, babe. I’ll be glad to see more of them.” 

He’s managed to draw a real smile back onto her face now. “You’re so fucking cheesy, you know what?”

“You love me for it.” 

She grins as she stretches up to kiss him. “Damn fucking right I do.” 


	20. Stimpak

“ _Fuck fuck fuck_. I’m so fucking sorry. I didn’t see it and then I shouted to you but _the ghouls_ and - fuck me I am so fucking sorry.”

Anna rummages in her pack, trying to find her stimpaks. She knows they’re in there, yet for some reason she cannot fucking find them and of course it’s at a time she really needs them. Beside her MacCready is grumbling to himself, clearly trying not to scream and attract any lingering ghouls - though Anna seems to give little care for that, if her string of curses is anything to go off. 

She exclaims joyfully when she finally finds what she’s looking for. “Ah-hah! Got it! Hold still.” 

“Wait! Where are you - _mother fuuuudger!_ A little warning please!” He rubs the spot where Anna has just rammed a needle into his skull, trying to ease the sting it’s left behind. It’s nothing in comparison to the rest of the pain he’d felt a moment ago, but it’s still unpleasant to say the least. 

“Look, if I’d’ve warned you, you’d’ve tried to stop me.” 

“Exactly. Then I could have done it myself.” Anna scoffs and MacCready shoots her a look. The pain in his body is finally receeding, though everything still hurts an awful lot. 

“What’s so funny?”

“It’s just, if I’d not stuck you with that stimpak you’d still be here, complaining about the pain and slowly bleeding out, but not doing anything about it. And then I’d’ve got sick of watching you psych yourself out staring at that needle and stuck you with it anyway. So if you think about it, I just skipped a step this way. I should do it more often.” 

He’s sulking as she puts everything back in her pack, still rubbing the spot where the stimpak had gone in. She knows he’s fine now and he’s just milking this, trying to make her feel bad for setting off that mine. She can feel his eyes on her, shooting her daggers. Anna simply laughs quietly to herself. She knows she shouldn’t find this funny, but that sulking pout of his is too funny not to laugh at. Still, she can’t help feeling bad for almost blowing him to pieces. 

She’s stopped laughing by the time she offers him a hand up. “Look, how about I buy you a drink when we get back to Diamond City? On me.” 

“That sounds like a good start…”

She sighs and slaps him on the back. “Don’t push it Mac.” 


	21. Tension

She can feel his eyes boring into the back of her head as she aims at the oncoming raiders. His musket’s been doing good work, but there’s a lot of them in this place and frankly it’s been too long a day to care about picking them off one by one. When the mininuke lands there’s no second-guessing if anyone made it out alive. 

Preston sighs and lowers his gun. “Was that really necessary?“

“What? Can’t a girl have a bit of fun? 

“Babe, I think you should find a less destructive way of having fun.” 

He’s mildly concerned when Anna whips around to face him, Fat Man still raised high. Luckily for him she needs to reload, so shooting him with that isn’t an option - though he hopes that wouldn’t be an option in the first place. The look on her face though clearly reads anger and irritation. “Are you quite done? Or are you going to pick at me? _Again_.”

“ _Again_?” It’s his turn to be irritated now. “When have I done this before? When have _we_ done this before?” 

“Every time I do something you don’t fully approve of.” Anna sets the Fat Man down on the ground. She doesn’t need a gun in her hand right now, especially not one as explosive as that. “You make these comments. Little ones, but fucking hell you sound so judgy when you say them. Like, I know I don’t always make the best decisions, but things like this - blowing up raiders with their own weapons - make me happy. Blowing shit up makes me happy. Blowing off a little steam once in a while makes me happy because god knows I can’t have a nice hot bath at the end of the day, so watching shit explode will have to do instead. It’s not like they’ll be missed, and if they will then you know what? I don’t give a fuck. Because no one seems to give a fuck about me around here or about anyone but themselves for that matter. So _pardon me_ for taking a moment to make myself feel better Preston.” 

His jaw hangs slack open and for a moment he does nothing but blink. For the second he is dumbstruck he has no idea what to say. Then words return to him. “You think no one gives a damn about you? What about me? What about your friends, Anna? You think we don’t care about you?” 

“Of course I know you do. I wasn’t talking about _you guys!_ ” 

“Then what were you talking about? How you like to blow people up for fun? How I annoy you?” 

Anna throws her arms in the air and begins pacing, too restless to stand still. She wants to blow something up again, but that’s what got them into this argument. That and - 

“I blow shit up because I have no way of dealing with all this… _shit_ anymore. Back when I was still with the police I’d have a cig and a drink and work through it. But I smoke like a fucking chimney now because I’m stressed all the time. What the fuck else am I supposed to do?” As if on cue, she pulls out a pack of cigarettes from her sleeve and lights it. “All I want is to have a nice bubblebath and not have to wash someone else’s blood and guts from my hair - _just once_ \- but I can’t even fucking do that! What the fuck am I supposed to do if I can’t have that and I can’t blow shit up? _Huh_. What do I do Preston?” 

“How the hell am I supposed to know? This is your crap, not mine. Do not take it out on me. You chose to deal with ‘this shit’.” He makes quotation marks with his fingers and Anna’s snears at him, not appreciating the gesture. 

“Says the man who decided to make the woman he’d just met the General of the Minutemen. Yeah, I _chose_ this shit.” Her voice is oozing with sarcasm and Preston scowls back at her, trying not to snap at her like she is at him. 

He fails. “Yeah, you did. I gave you the choice and you accepted. Remember? Or have you conveniently forgotten about that?” 

The sound of distant gunfire and shouting interrupts them before Anna can respond. Preston is shouting for her to _come on!_ as he heads towards the sound of the guns, already bounding off, and Anna can’t help but pause a moment to stub out her cigarette then pick up the Fat Man from her feet. 

She’ll deal with Preston and their fight - and the new one her claiming yet another Fat Man will likely cause - later on. For now they have a group of angry raiders to destroy and she has a lot of rage to deal with. 


	22. Relief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The follow up to Tension

Apprehension bubbles in his stomach when he hears the familiar call from Sanctuary’s guard signalling the General’s return. He’s not seen her since their awkward switchover at Castle, and they’ve not spoken since before then. The feeling boils over and turns to anxiety when their following shout calls for aid and he realises that Anna’s hurt. 

Cait pushes past him as they both make their way to the General’s house. “Outta me way! I need to lay her down.” The door slams in his face and before he has time to argue with her Curie is pushing past him as well and has joined Cait inside. He receives another earful when he ventures inside one final time, being told in a varying degree of politeness to leave them to their work. 

By the time the two women emerge, an hour or so later, they seem to be in better spirits. “You may see her now, Monsieur Preston, but please, she needs quiet so she can rest.” 

They leave him to it then. Cait lingers a moment, unsure of what he’s going to do. He’s sure by now she knows about their fight, hence her reluctance to leave, but soon she relents and leaves the two of them alone. Whatever she was deciding, she’s seemingly happy enough to go.

He’s grateful that she’s sleeping as he pulls up a chair beside her bed. She always looks more peaceful when she’s asleep; it’s nice to see her without a scowl. Still, he’d prefer it to be under better circumstances. He leans closer and brushes a lock of hair away from her face, sighing quietly as he talks to himself. “Oh Anna, what did you do this time?” 

“Something terribly uneventful, I’m afraid.” He’d not noticed her wake up. She tries to sit up, but before he can gently coax her back down she’s slumped back, too tired to lift her own limbs. “Urgh, fucking hell. What drugs did they pump in me to keep me down?” 

“You gonna tell me what happened?” 

Anna sighs and she looks away. “It’s - it’s not whatever you’re thinking. If you look there’s no burns or anything. I just… _fell_ …Through a floor or three. Apparently Cait couldn’t do much with me since my legs were too fucked to make me walk, so she hauled my ass back here and - well, you know the rest.” 

Preston pulls the blanket strewn over Anna back and sure enough her legs are in splints and are bandaged heavily. “And as you can see, I’m not moving for a while.” 

“Well damn. Are you okay?” 

She laughs once and shakes her head. “Well sure, minus a killer headache and my legs being fucked, yeah I’m alright Preston.” Her voice is dripping with sarcasm and her nose scrunches up as she sneers a smile. “I’m sorry, I’m still being an ass, aren’t I?”

Preston considers lying, telling her _no you’re not being an ass babe_ , but he finds the words stick in his throat. Despite worrying for her well-being, now he knows she’s fine he can’t help but remember their earlier fight and the reason why she’d stubbornly wandered off without him in the first place. “I haven’t forgotten about earlier, you know.” 

Anna laughs, the sound shaky. “Ah, well there goes my wishful thinking.” 

“I’m not a mind-reader Anna. If you’re stressed or angry or anything other than what you’re showing, I’m probably not gonna notice. So for you to then get mad at me for something you’ve not even told me you’re mad about, it’s annoying. Because how do I know I’ve done something wrong if you don’t tell me? I don’t. And then you snap at me for one little comment and I feel like hell for it.” 

She remains quiet as he speaks, not quite looking at him. She’s not sure what to say, despite the many words swirling around in her head. None of them seem to make a coherent thought when she tries to piece them together to speak, and slowly the silence between them drags on, growing more and more uncomfortable the longer it goes on for. 

Eventually Preston sighs. “I don’t know what you want me to do right now. I can’t say anything else if you won’t talk to me.”

“I don’t know what to say.” Anna exhales a long breath through her nostrils, severely wishing she could simply walk away from this right now. “I’m sorry I took my anger out on you, okay. It was unfair of me. 

“I just - I don’t handle things well. I had it pointed out to me back when I was new to the Force. I was told that if I didn’t fix it I wouldn’t last, so I fixed it. Sort of. I found ways to cope, but as I poorly put earlier, I don’t have those ways anymore. And it seems blowing shit up is my new alternative. Is it ideal? Hell no. Is it fun? For me, yes.”

She sighs. He’s quiet and his expression is unreadable. She’s scared, unsure if his the look on his face means he’s still thinking or if he’s still pissed. Anna continues. “Look, I can try and find new ways to destress if you’d like, but I’ve been trying since I came out here and blowing shit up with big guns has been the only thing that’s genuinely made me feel more relaxed afterwards. I at least try and keep the damage to supermutants and the like. I mean, I like big explosions, but I’m not heartless. Just…maybe a little crazy.” 

The feel of his fingers linking through hers makes Anna jump at first. “Anna…” He waits until she turns and looks at him. “If you don’t talk to me, I don’t _know_ any of this. If you’d told me all of this sooner, I’d have known that I was doing something that annoyed you.”

“I just…thought I could ignore it.”

“Well don’t. Tell me next time. That way we can sort it out. And then this can be avoided in future.” He smiles and Anna knows he’s waiting for her to respond. She returns his smile and squeezes his hand, mouthing her agreement. His smile grows. “Great. I’m glad we managed to resolve this.” 

Anna yawns and Preston is instantly reminded of Anna’s current situation. She looks shattered, which is unsurprising given all she’s been through today. “But I’m keeping you awake, aren’t I? Damn, I’m sorry babe.”

She simply shakes her head. “Don’t be. I can sleep a lot easier now. Though if Curie has anymore pain medication she can give me without me OD’ing, that’d be great.” 

“I’ll go ask her for you.” Preston kisses the back of Anna’s hand before letting it go. Anna however holds on for a moment, only letting go after he’s placed another kiss on her lips. She smiles to herself as she watches him leave the house, her eyes closing once the door is shut. 

She’s asleep when Preston returns. He doesn’t wake her, just lets her sleep. He grabs a comicbook from one of the racks and settles down on one of the sofas in the living area, sitting with the bed in view. He’s going to be here for a while, but he’ll be here when she wakes up, ready to help with whatever she needs. 


	23. Don't Go (New)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompted over on my tumblr. Prompt: the way I said "I love you" - broken, as you clutch the sleeve of my jacket and beg me not to leave
> 
> It was going to happen sooner or later. Anna goes ghoul and Preston does not. She was always going to outlive him and well the prompt just begged for this to finally be written.
> 
> P.S. Robin is my friends oc who is a mortician and a friend of Anna's who helped with the whole going ghoul thing.

She’d known this day was coming for a long time. Since Anna had accepted the fact that she was a ghoul now, she’d had to face the fact that she would outlive a lot of the people in her life. And that included him.

But she hadn’t thought it would come about so fast. Not really. 

For all their time together, it never seemed enough. They’d spent so many years together, her best friend and her husband, and the selfish part of her had wanted him to stay with her. She didn’t want to lose someone so important to her again. But she would never ask for so much of him. And so they had continued living their lives together, choosing to focus on the now, as they had always done, and not wait for that final tomorrow to rear its ugly head and make today their last day together. It would always arrive too soon and she would never be ready for it. Not really. 

Just as she is not ready right now. 

Anna sits by his bedside, watching him struggle to draw breath, clutching onto his hand as tight as she dare. She was amazed he’d reached this age, they both were. And had the harsh winter not caught up with him, Preston would’ve lasted longer, she’s sure of it. But times had been tough and his body could no longer cope with the stresses it had once handled. 

He looks like he’s in pain, despite the medication he’s already been given. The doctor had said there was nothing else she could do, but she’d given him something to ease things along. Anna had simply nodded her understanding and thanked her for her help. It was not what she’d wanted to hear. She needed a solution, something to fix this. But there was no fixing this and they both knew it. 

His eyes crack open and Preston smiles weakly when he spots Anna. She tries to return it, to put on as brave as face as he is, but the tears spilling from her eyes betray her efforts. “Hey sweetie. How are you feeling?”

“As good as I can, I suppose. Though I am a little chilly.” 

“Want me to fetch another blanket? Or one of the dogs?” 

Preston chuckles, but he cuts off abruptly to cough. Anna winces at the sound. “A blanket is great, thanks.” 

Anna mouths an okay before standing, giving his hand a squeeze before heading off to find said blanket. 

He’s asleep again when she returns. She’s glad to see the look of pain has eased up on his face, his mouth and brow relaxed rather than scrunched into a grimace. “There we are, one blanket. Hopefully this helps.” 

She throws it over him, tucking the sides in for good measure. However, as she tucks in the top she realises his breathing is too quiet. “Preston?” Her heart stops as she listens, prays for that raspy breath to break the silence in the room. 

But all she hears is the sound of her heart drumming in her ears and her own breath coming in rapid intakes.  

She sinks to her knees, shakes him as she repeats his name over and over again. “Not now. Preston, don’t do this to me. Don’t leave me.” He gives no answer and she buries her face in the blankets surrounding him, sobbing. “Please don’t leave me. I love you Preston, don’t go. Not yet. I need you sweetie. Don’t go. Don’t go.”

* * *

“Has she moved at all yet?”

He doesn’t hear her come up behind him, too busy watching the sad scene before him. Hancock shakes his head. “Not an inch. Give her some more time, will ya.” 

Robin nods and joins him, the two ghouls watching from the doorway. She needs to begin preparing Preston’s body, but Anna hasn’t moved since she returned with his extra blanket and neither of the pair has the heart to move her just yet. Though sooner rather than later one of them is going to have to do it, a job which neither of the pair wants to fall to them. 

When sooner finally arrives, Anna refuses to let go. She clings onto him until the last moment, her fingers finally unhooking from his shirt sleeve and falling limp by her side. 

A warm hand finds hers and squeezes it comfortingly. She doesn’t squeeze it back, but lets them wind their fingers through with hers. 

“It gets easier eventually. Trust me.” 

Anna turns to meet Hancock’s gaze. She studies his face for the longest of moments, her eyes raw from crying. “You know, I wish I could believe you. I really do.”

He sighs. “So do I.”


End file.
